Chasing & Repoussé, jewelry and home décor inspired by nature

This is the 86th day of 2015 but I’ve only made it to my 36th earring a day. I seem to make these in short spurts, usually while working on other pieces.

Hammered silver hemisphere earrings. EAD 22 & 23: These earrings are made from sterling silver, cut into half circles and textured with a cross peen.

These earrings are made from sterling silver, formed into twig shapes and soldered into little branch bunches. EAD 26 & 27

These earrings are made from sterling silver, cut into asymmetrical ovals and textured with a cross peen. Each earring is different, but they have similar lines and length. The shapes remind me most of tree bark or perhaps cicada wings. EAD 24 & 25.

This is a single earring featuring a natural amethyst nugget bead hanging from sterling silver wire. EAD28

4 foldformed brass leaves for EAD #29-32

EAD #33 This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form, with a pod-like or tribal shield shape.

EAD #34 This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form, with a pod-like or tribal shield shape.

EAD #35 This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form, with an abstract draped form.

EAD #36 This is a single earring featuring one of my handmade and hammered brass leaves hanging from a niobium earwire. It’s patinated to a dark green black and then highlighted back to the brass underneath.

I’m getting ready for a soldering workshop so get ready to see something more geometric than I might normally make as I practice side-by-side and T-joints before I teach the class.

This is the 77th day of 2015, but I am still only at earring #21. I’m sure I’ll catch up at some point. For now I’ll enjoy the journey.

I like to use up my bits of scrap silver for these creative play projects. I fuse them into new forms with great textures. In fact, the layered texture is what interests me the most about fusing. Click on each photo below for more photos.

#14 of EAD2015 – This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form, reminiscent of a tower door or asymmetrical house. This single earring hangs approximately 1.5 inches from the bottom of the earwire.

EAD2015 #15 – This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form. It makes me think of the wind in winter, blowing over snow. This single earring hangs approximately 1.75 inches from the bottom of the earwire.

#16 of EAD2015 – This is a single earring of sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form. This one has a faceted pink quartz bead at the top. This single earring hangs approximately 1.75 inches from the bottom of the earwire.

#17 and 18 of EAD 2015, put together as a pair. These earrings are made from sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form. Each earring is different, but they have similar lines and length. They work together beautifully as an intriguing sparkly abstract pair.

#19 and 20 of EAD 2015, put together as a pair. – These earrings are made from sterling silver fused into a highly textured and abstract natural form. Each earring is different, but they have similar lines and length. They work together beautifully as an intriguing sparkly abstract pair.

#21 of EAD2015 – This is a single earring, set with moonstone, circles over circles, highly textured, reminiscent of the winter moon. This dainty single earring hangs approximately .75 inches from the bottom of the earwire. EAD2015 #21

A year or so after I started making and selling oak leaf jewelry, I had a few dads contact me about ordering sets of bronze and silver oak leaf pendants, father and son pendants. It turns out that the fathers had read the Ranger’s Apprentice series by John Flanagan. The fathers told me that in that series of books, the ranger apprentices wore bronze oak leaf necklaces and the master rangers wore silver leaves. Those stories, and the fact that the fathers and sons loved the books so much, inspired me to get the books for my own son. My son loved the books just as much but hardly noticed the part about the oak the leaf pendants! He wanted a cloak, but had no desire for the jewelry.

I still make and sell oak leaf jewelry though I haven’t had a Ranger inspired request in several years.

Here are the leaves sawn out and ready to be annealed.

Handsawn bronze leaves ready to be annealed

This little one looks like she’s helping me, but you all know better right?

We had a day of less unbearably cold weather, so I decided to forge some coathooks for a special order.
I don’t have my forging area set up yet so I worked out on a cold concrete patio. I was warm enough but my feet were freezing.

I’ve been participating in a 2015 challenge to make one single earring per day. These earrings are not intended to be sold or worn as pairs. Our move to Northern Michigan has hampered my participation, so I’ve only completed about 14 earrings so far.

Mix and Match Earrings from the Earring a Day challenge 2015

You can find the ones that I have finished, that are still available, in the Mix & Match section of my online shop. My job for the next few days is to catch up on the challenge! I think I’ll use the opportunity to practice some cold forging.